Low Oxalate and Delicious Cabbage Beef Wraps

These Asian inspired low oxalate cabbage and beef wraps are fantastic for anyone who may be suffering from kidney stones.  My wife is one of those people.

Hi everyone!  This newest post is on a topic that I have definitely talked about before.  Over the last couple of years (feels like longer!) Heather and I have been researching the low oxalate diet and kidney stones.  The reason being is that Heather is very prone to these kidney stones and we have to limit certain types of food in her diet.

And by certain types, we mean…..alot!

Before I get into the types of food that are on a low oxalate diet,  I should probably explain what the heck oxalate is and what it’s been doing to Heathers kidneys!

Oxalate, or Oxalic acid is found in many healthy foods.  Definitely ones you would think that you could have all the time.  But for sensitive individuals (my lovely wife being one of them!) foods high in oxalate may actually contribute to kidney stones, which if you have had them, are not fun to deal with!

What happens is that Oxalate will bind to minerals and form compounds such as calcium oxalate.  This can happen in the kidneys and then will need to be excreted through urine.  Normally calcium and oxalate are in the urinary tract seperately and dissove no problem.  If they get together and form crystals, they can cause all kinds of problems.  They are a very dysfunctional relationship!  A large amount of the kidney stones found in patients are calcium oxalate.

Isn’t this a fun topic on a food blog?  I promise I’m getting to a healthy tasty recipe!  Keep reading!

So when Heather and I were first told what types of food we had to stay away from, I was really surprised.

List of High Oxalate Foods That Increase Your Chances of Kidney Stones

Spinach, nuts and seed, raspberries, beets, celery, sweet potatoes, chocolate, beans, chocolate milk (Heather LOVES chocolate milk),

WHAT?!  No leafy greens and healthy nuts?  Whats going on with this diet?  It seems so backwards!

The best part is what when we were researching online things that Heather can consume as much as she wants includes:  cola, margarine, cereal, chicken noodle soup, graham crackers, imitation vanilla extract, and of course, white sugar.

Again I will say…..WHAT?!

That being said, with this diet it doesn’t mean you have to cut all of this stuff out completely, it just means you REALLY have to limit when you want to indulge in these high oxalate foods.

According to research I have done, a person who is avoiding high oxalate foods should try to consume under 100 mg of oxalate per day.  In contrast a normal diet usually consists of 200-300 mg of oxalate.  The ideal amount if possible, would be 50 mg or under.  Now onto the tasty recipe!

One of Heathers favorite things for me to make for her are lettuce wraps.  Usually I like using things like soy sauce, hoisin, and other Asian condiments.  What I found out was soy is one of the worst culprits as a high oxalate food and definitely adds to the worry of developing kidney stones.  I had to find a way to create a healthy and tasty stir-fry sauce that doesn’t use soy based products.

Enter in Shiitake mushrooms!

These beautiful mushrooms have a really nice, earthy flavor that was perfect to blend into my homemade stirfry sauce.  Other options that could work for this are fish sauce, fish paste, and seaweed.  This awesome recipe also included just a little bit of bacon.  I know it may sound odd for a stir-fry sauce, but it adds just the right amount of smokiness that I wanted for the sauce.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.  Ketchup makes an appearance too and it added just the right amount of sweetness!

The only thing I added into this sauce that may be a bit of concern is sesame oil.  Seeds and nuts are definitely high on the list for oxalate foods and kidney stones.  With the oil however, I used just 2-3 drops in the recipe.  In doing the research, 100 grams of sesame seeds has 100 mg of oxalate.  That sounds like a lot until you figure out how much 100 grams of sesame seeds are.  Definitely not an amount you would consume at one time!  The oil is concentrated but a small amount is used.  It adds so much flavor to the sauce too!

Instead of lettuce I used cabbage.  Cabbage is one of those low oxalate foods that you can eat as much as you want of!  Iceberg is definitely not as bad of a culprit as greens like spinach and kale, but I wanted to try something different.  The cabbage adds a nice flavor and this dish almost ends up being more of a cabbage roll than a lettuce wrap.  Hey, it tastes good and is low oxalate!

I seasoned and roasted the cabbage for just 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  I quartered a head of cabbage and removed the stem, and laid everything out in a baking sheet.  Its just enough to cook the cabbage and add a bit of color.

While rice is a low oxalate food, I thought I would try my hand at grating some cauliflower and cooking with it instead.  You can definitely use rice though.  Especially seeing as this dish does work out more like an Asian cabbage roll instead.

I used more mushrooms, cabbage, carrots and peppers to round out the filling for the rolls/wraps.  I’m just calling it both now!  Peppers and carrots are a medium oxalate food, but in moderation will not be too bad.

Here’s how to cook this delicious dish.

4.75 from 4 votes

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Delicious Low Oxalate Cabbage Beef Wraps, and the Kidney Stone Diet

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Asian

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Matt Kearns

Ingredients

Stirfry Sauce

• 2 cups of chopped Shiikate mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of the white part of green onions
• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• 1 tsp of chopped garlic
• 1/2 piece of bacon sliced
• 3 drops of sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp of ketchup
• 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil
• Sriracha to spice

Wraps/Rolls

• 1 head of cabbage quartered with stems removed
• 1/2 head of cauliflower grated
• 12 cups of sliced cremini mushrooms
• 1/2 cup of sliced yellow peppers
• 1/4 cup of sliced green onions
• 1/2 tsp of grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp of chopped garlic
• 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb. of stirfry beef

Instructions

Stirfry Sauce

1. Add the mushrooms, onions, ginger, garlic, and bacon into a pan with the butter and oil and cook on medium heat. You will want to cook these slow so as to develop the most flavor without burning anything. After about 10 minutes, add in the vinegar and reduce by half. Put ingredients into a blender and add the water, ketchup, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to season. Blend until smooth, add in sriracha or any other hot sauce you like to spice things up!

Wraps/Rolls

1. Toss the cabbage in vegetable oil, salt and pepper and lay out flat on a baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the edges of the cabbage start to get a bit crispy.
2. Heat up a large pan or wok with the vegetable oil in it. Once the oil starts to smoke a bit add in the beef, vegetables, ginger and garlic and saute until well caramelized. IT would be best to to this in smaller batches to make sure you don't crowd the pan and steam the ingredients instead of stir-fry them.
3. Add in as much sauce as you like. Serve in the cabbage cups and top with extra sauce and chopped green onions. Enjoy!

This will be my focus over the next little while as I have found that there aren’t many recipes online that deal with kidney stones and low oxalate diets.  Expect to see more tasty recipes soon!  Want to try out another one of my recipes that is good for the kidneys?  Try out my Chicken and Spaghetti Squash Noodle Soup!

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